Lantern7

Happy 2020! Here's a look back at the decade from ESPN. Food for thought: Number of World Series with the Yankees in the 2010's: 0 Number of World Series with the Mets in the 2010's: 1 I just find it funny.

Dumping out saved stuff on my Facebook, found this.

They’re doing “best of” stuff now; “Forest of the Dead” is on as I type this. S11 starts airing in order at 7 a.m.

He was such a shit stain. I mean, you want to feel bad for the kid growing up gay in the South with the last name "Cumbie," but he's such a wretched stereotype. And the guys going along with the plan to boot Bill . . . did he shit in their mouths and that footage was left on the cutting room floor? [ETA: Funny115 recap of the Great Manono Chicken Trap. Seriously, Colton just gave the women the game, and they weren't fairing much better] I'm thinking S8 was hard up looking for female contestants. I think Jenna Morasca accepted her invite once it was deemed she would not be shamed if she left the game to be with her father. And Amber may have finished sixth in S2, but she wasn't an "All-Star." Basically, she only got the one vote from Shii Ann at the end of S8, with three more that were more against Rob than for her. Once it came down to those two and Rupert, Jenna and Tom, they knew one of 'em was winning it all. Those three didn't have enough brain power to toast bread. Fuck, Rupert was on the jury when Darrah/Lil/Sandra teamed up to blindside Burton, and I don't think he made a move. @Lady Calypso . . . Tina was the first person voted out of S8. Whatever happened to Colleen? All I remember was her as the romantic lead in a Rob Schneider movie, and then she fell off the radar . . . probably out of shame. Also, given the events of S38, has anyone heard from Lil Morris recently?

You know why Stephen Fishbach nearly killed himself at the end of his run on Second Chances? Because he probably didn’t want to go down as the guy who lost a unanimous vote to the guy that gave an idol to Russell Friggin’ Hanrz. Or was it Game Changers? 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

This is it, right? I mean, no more trilogies. I saw it tonight, and I thought it was okay, but reading reactions makes me think we might have been better off with only Episodes IV-VI. The prequels were basically stuff found in George Lucas's old drawers, and the revelation that the man that would become Darth Vader was a humongous bitch. The sequels are basically a giant dick fight between two directors, and we might have to wait 25 years for technology to evolve to a point where VIII-IX are re-edited into something everyone would love. Like, either Rose gets blown to shit in the first few minutes of TROS, or she's at Finn's side the entire time and they wind up married with kids on a farm in one of the spots on Tatoonie that doesn't suck. Their next door neighborhood would be a reformed Boba Fett, who escaped the Sarlacc Pit. Honestly, my thought now is "Where's the Snyder Cut?" And I did have fun watching TROS. But I have to question whether we need a main source. I don't have Disney+, but I'm thinking more people dig The Mandolorian a lot more. Rey is/was a Palpatine. Okay, then. She was the Emperor's granddaughter. Of course she is. I mean, we now understand how Rey struggled between nature and nurture (or at least the training with Luke), but that felt like a butt-pull. So were those her adoptive parents that were killed? I . . . see, I should stop now, because the more I want to know stuff, the more I know there will never be a satisfactory answer. Kylo Ren? Still a bitch. I mean, he did find peace in Rey's arms, but then I realize that could be seen as a "cover" version of his grandfather. And Adam Driver is still a weird-looking dude. At least he got one guilt-ridden scene with his dad. Goodness knows how JJ got Harrison back for that scene. Did I mention I had fun? Because I did, and I'm not saying that as a defense mechanism. The action was good, I got to see familiar faces (even if a few looked like they bit the big one; I went in thinking Chewbacca was a goner because people were bracing for the death of C3P0), and Poe and Finn might be the best pair of buddies in the franchise. Are they gay? Straight? Going into a three-way relationship with Rey that isn't uncommon in that universe? Who cares?!? Let's just leave it alone, walk out of the room, and not step on all of the toys that could have been used in a better fashion. And if the movie is still going strong in a few weeks, I'll make this sketch of Rey I got in 2016 my avatar. "Star Wars: The New Trilogy . . . we got three movies out in the span of five years instead of seven. Could you be grateful for that?!?"

Here’s the second episode. This? I don’t know why it is. It popped up on the TFS YouTube.

"The Macra Terror" was delightfully bizarre. Colony secretly run by giant crabs using subliminal suggestions? Cake. Random-ass cheerleaders? Icing.

Checking to see if anyone watched the Christmas episode. I think I liked the other one better . . . with the gang entering a comatose woman's dreams, and finding that she wanted to get railed by her stepson. The new one? Mistaken identity that leads to Marques having to kill a guy in self-defense. The whole "But isn't he a ghost?" thing hang in the air, but I;m thinking we're better off not knowing the logistics of Marques' existence.

I forgot about this thread. I posted this video in the Media thread, but I think it's a better fit here. Basically, this is every episode of the modern era (from “Rose” to “Resolution”) as described by clips from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. For the most part? It actually works.

Heads-Up: If case you didn’t hear, BBC America will be running the animated recreation of “The Macra Terror” tonight at 9 p.m. That will be followed by “Shada.”

Anyone else watch the latest special? Basically, it's "Murder On The Orient Express," with a really peppy Jesus as the inspector, and Santa as the murder victim. But it turns out Santa was in the caboose the whole time, and the real victim was Tim Allen dressed as Santa. Cheap, but the episode was funny. And Jason Alexander returns as Krampus!

Yeah, and episodes will air tomorrow . . . except for “Dalek,” “The Long Game” and “Father’s Day.” Also, some stuff has been cut . . . like the music number where Rose has a Christmas party with Jackie and Mickey, and Ten picks out his outfit. Reminder: “The Macra Terror” airs tomorrow night, followed by “Shada.”

The clip got clipped. Mr. Robinson showed how he sold dolls with literal cabbages for heads. I was poking around for TV Funhouse Christmas clips. The only one I can’t find is the one for 2000, where Santa skips the red states, then has Chinese food with liberals such as Al Franken and Margaret Cho. Oh, and Rush Limbaugh takes Santa’s place, but that’s an Oxytocin-fueled dream. ETA: . . . and Moby was there. It’s a fun post-2000 bit, with Santa labeling Middle America as “Dumbfuckistan.” Good times. Good times.

Yau-Man was awesome. You got these alpha dudes that Probst obviously loves, and then you got this little old man that can surpass them. Can't break a box? Drop it on its corner. Alpha dudes mocking you as you get ready to hurl a flaming ball? Use physics to make the target. I called him "Yauda." It's a pity he didn't last long on S16.

If EoE is shut down post-merge, then maybe we won’t get a repeat of what happened. Of course, this series likes to run into a wall, even though it doesn’t crack at all. 🙄

I keep forgetting to ask . . . where is Psycho Pirate? He's the one that dropped that "Worlds Live" line last year to get the COIE hype started. Or would too many people wonder how exactly he would be considered a pirate?

I forgot to mention I got this sketch from Kristen Gudsnuk (Henchgirl, Modern Fantasy, Making Friends) at a comic show last weekend. In other news, I think that I could probably afford a set of eyes from Jim Lee. And maybe a nose. That might be pushing my luck.

Another list, this time for the best anime moments:

I said "starting with Nicaragua."

This year's DBCember list from Team Four Star: Top 12 Dragon Ball Techniques. Here's the list so far (with an intro) 12. Kikoho (Tri-Beam) 11. Time Skip 10. Makankosappo (Special Beam Cannon) 9. Dragon Fist 8. Makūhōidan (Hellzone Grenada) 7. Shunkan Ido (Instant Transmission) 6. Final Flash 5. Kienzan (Destructo Disc) 4. Kaio Ken 3. Genki Dama (Spirit Bomb) ETA: Someone found this footage of Beerus and Champa fighting in their younger days.

How about this: keep the firemaking challenge, but move it to Day 37. Go back to F2 on Day 39. Also: in the event of a tie (should there still be a F3), Probst would announce it straight away, then have each finalist go up to vote for the other two. Votes still get announced at the Reunion. I dunno if the lack of female winners is a fix, or something that just happens that could be fixed. I think Elaine and Jane's respective runs were pretty unique. For the hell of it, here are the oldest women to make a final episode, starting with Nicaragua (Day 39 finalists marked in blue): Outside of the Top 10 (it's 13 with a four-way tie for tenth), Denise is the oldest winner at 41 years. Sarah is the only other woman over 30 to have won. I dunno . . . I got bored and I know basic Excel. Is there anything tangible to base a thesis (or at least a hypothesis) upon?

I’m guessing Rupert had those, but they probably died soon afterward.

Jenna & Zach are engaged. Discuss.

TPN will be rerun at 3:30 a.m. when Toonami returns on January 4.